Jose Constanza extended his hitting streak, Edward Salcedo and Ian Thomas stayed hot, and Josh Elander had a big day.
Gwinnett Braves 2, Louisville Bats 6
- Jose Constanza LF 1-4, SB (7), .284 AVG
- Todd Cunningham CF 2-3, 2B, 3B, RBI, BB, SB (9), .233 AVG
- Tyler Pastornicky 2B 1-2, RBI, .297 AVG
- Omar Poveda 7 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 3 BB, 2 K, 2.52 ERA
Jose Constanza extended his hitting streak to 18 games, and he's gone 27-71 (a .380 batting average) with a double, 3 triples, and 3 RBI during the streak, raising his batting average from .133 to .284 overall. Todd Cunningham doubled and tripled, and while he's hitting just .222 in his last 10 games, he has a .382 OBP and a .864 OPS in that same span. After hitting .351 with a .845 OPS in 74 at bats in April, Tyler Pastornicky is hitting only .234 with a .560 OPS in 64 at bats in May. Omar Poveda made a quality start, but still took his third loss of the season. That's been a trend, as 8 of his 9 starts have been quality starts.
The G-Braves are off on Wednesday before beginning a 4 game series at home against the Toledo Mudhens on Thursday, with Daniel Rodriguez set to start for Gwinnett against Ramon Garcia.
Mississippi Braves 2, Jacksonville Suns 5
- Jose Martinez RF 1-3, BB, OF Assist, .315 AVG
- Edward Salcedo 3B 2-4, 2B, HR (5), RBI, .289 AVG
- Aaron Northcraft 5 IP, 5 ER, 7 H, 3 BB, 5 K, 4.73 AVG
- Chasen Shreve 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 BB, 3 K, 4.30 ERA
- Ryne Harper 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 0 K, 0.00 ERA
- Ian Thomas 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 1.07 ERA
Edward Salcedo doubled and hit his fifth homer of the year, extending his hitting streak to 7 games. He's gone 11-25 with a double, 3 homers, 3 RBI, 2 walks, and 2 steals in that stretch. After hitting .247 with a .684 OPS in 85 at bats in April, he's hit .343 with a .952 OPS in 67 at bats in May. Jose Martinez extended his own hitting streak to 7 games, and he's gone 9-23 with 2 doubles, 3 homers, 4 RBI, and 3 walks in that span. Aaron Northcraft allowed 5 earned runs in 5 innings of work, and in his last 3 starts, he's allowed 11 earned runs in 14 innings, giving up 8 walks while striking out 14. Chasen Shreve has struck out 5 over 4 shutout innings in his last 2 appearances. Ryne Harper returned after a month on the disabled list, tossing a scoreless inning. He hasn't allowed an earned run in 9.1 innings over 6 appearances this season. Ian Thomas spent 3 and a half seasons in independent leagues before the Braves signed him last season and he posted a 3.15 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 8.9 H/9, 3 BB/9, and 11.4 K/9 in 45.2 innings over 26 appearances. The 26 year old lefty has done even better this year, with a 1.07 ERA, a 0.75 WHIP, 4.2 H/9, 2.5 BB/9, and 13.9 K/9 in 25.1 innings over 17 appearances.
The M-Braves are off on Wednesday before beginning a 5 game series in Mobile. Cody Martin will start the opener for the Braves against Andrew Chafin for the Bay Bears.
Lynchburg Hillcats 3, Wilmington Blue Rocks 4
- Emerson Landoni 2B 2-4, .318 AVG
- Kyle Kubitza 3B 1-4, RBI, SB (2), .246 AVG
- Ross Heffley DH 1-3, RBI, SF, .218 AVG
- Matt Weaver 1B 1-3, .223 AVG
- AJ Holland 6 IP, 4 R, 3 ER, 6 H, 4 BB, 5 K, 3.18 ERA
- Caleb Brewer 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 0 K, 4.18 ERA
- Wilson Rivera 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 1.74 ERA
In his last 4 games, Kyle Kubitza has gone 6-12 with a triple, 3 RBI, and 4 walks, and in his last 10 games, he's hitting .310 with a .992 OPS. Emerson Landoni has gone 3-8 in his last 2 games. Ross Heffley is only hitting .218 with a .586 OPS for the season, but in his last 10 games, he's hitting .300 with a .760 OPS. Matt Weaver has gone 7-17 with a double, 5 RBI, and 2 steals during his 5 game hitting streak. AJ Holland had only allowed 3 earned runs in 11.2 innings over his last 2 starts, but he gave up 3 earned, 4 total, in 6 innings today. Walks have become a problem, as he's allowed 9 walks in 12 innings over his last 2 starts after only allowing 11 walks in 39 innings over his first 7 starts. Wilson Rivera hasn't allowed an earned run in 6.2 innings over his last 5 appearances, striking out 10 in that span while allowing 8 walks.
Ryan Weber will start for the Hillcats tomorrow against Kyle Zimmer, who was selected 5th overall by the Royals in last year's draft.
Rome Braves 4, Augusta Greenjackets 7
- Levi Hyams 2B 1-3, RBI, BB, .327 AVG
- Josh Elander LF 3-4, 2B, RBI, .329 AVG
- Carlos Franco DH 1-3, BB, .243 AVG
- Mauricio Cabrera 6 IP, 6 ER, 10 H, 2 BB, 1 K, 3.72 ERA
- Alex Wilson 2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 0.00 ERA
Josh Elander had a big day, with 3 hits, including his 14th double of the season. He's gone 9-20 with 3 doubles, a triple, and 8 RBI in his last 5 games. The 22 year old is having a fine season, hitting .329 with a .932 OPS, 14 doubles, 3 triples, 5 homers, 34 RBI, and 4 steals in 158 at bats. Levi Hyams has gone 13-36 with 2 doubles, a triple, 6 RBI, and 3 walks in his last 9 games. Carlos Franco extended his hitting streak to 6 games, and he's gone 7-19 with a double, 2 RBI, and 5 walks during that stretch. Mauricio Cabrera had his worst start of the season, allowing 6 earned runs in 6 innings of work. He's walked 32 in 48.1 innings this season, while only striking out 31. Alex Wilson has thrown 6 shutout innings over 4 appearances this season.
Williams Perez will start for Rome on Wednesday against Kendry Flores for Augusta.